Giant Wind Turbine Installation Vessel Delivered to Cadeler

Cadeler, which already attests to being the world’s largest operator in offshore wind installation, operations, and maintenance services, took delivery today, August 16, on the first of its new larger installation vessels. It comes just three months after the company claimed a first for lifting a giant offshore wind turbine into position and is the next step after the acquisition of Eneti which positioned the company including an orderbook of now seven vessels.

The first of the vessels from the orderbook, Wind Peak, was delivered from the COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry shipyard in Qidong, China. The company has a second sistership, Wind Pace, scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2025 as its two P-Class jack-up installation vessels. Cadeler highlights that the vessels are designed for the growing needs and demands of future wind farms in terms of size, scope, and complexity and will be the largest in its fleet.

"Our customers are constantly pushing the boundaries in terms of size and complexity of the wind turbines being installed offshore,” said Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler. “Wind Peak is a representation of this, and we owe our ability to set new standards in the industry to the hardworking Cadeler team, our excellent shipyard, and trusted strategic partners.”

 

 

First time giant 14.7 MW wind turbine and blades were lifted into position by a Cadeler vessel

 

The ships are engineered to operate at some of the most challenging offshore installation sites worldwide and have the capability to install the largest wind turbines currently being deployed across the globe. The ships will each have 5,600 square meters of deck space with a payload capacity of over 17,600 tons. The main crane is capable of lifting more than 2,500 tons at 53 meters. The size and capacity mean the vessels have the ability to transport and install seven complete 15 MW turbine sets or five sets of 20+ MW turbines per load. Each vessel can accommodate up to 130 crew members and installation technicians.

Liang Yanfeng, Chairman of COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry called the vessels among the most advanced offshore wind turbine installation vessels globally. In addition to the load capacity, he said they are also pioneers in the use of hybrid oil-electric power technology.

Designs for the vessels were developed in partnership with COSCO, GustoMSC NOV, Kongsberg, Huisman, and MAN Energy.

The vessel expands on Cadeler’s current capacity. This spring one of the company’s current vessels installed the first 14.7 MW Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbine, complete with the 108-meter (354 foot) blades, at OW Ocean Winds' Moray West Wind Farm in Scotland. 

In addition to the two P-class vessels, Cadeler has two M-class and now three A-class all on order from COSCO Heavy Industries. The company recently placed the order for the third A-Class vessel and when they are all delivered by 2027, Cadeler will have a fleet of 11 installation vessels. They will all be operating under the Danish flag.